With all the disagrements and arguments going on I'm scared I'll start another 3 page shit fest if I ask any more questions in here .Let me start by saying that we all respect you painters that come on here,you guys have an awsome talent that alot of us wish we could do.I myself understand the costs and time that goes into your guys work,some others might not.But you guys have to respect the DIY'ers or the ones that ask for help,after all,you guys weren't born with the skills you have and the only way to get as good as some of you are is practice.Like wise,we(non painters)need to respect the painters expertice and critisism.I love this forum,I wish there was more involvment in here,but some pop in for questions,and some use it as a advertising forum.Anyway,I'd love to see some more work in progress from both the painters and the DIY'ers

So here's my question,I'm working on some motorcycle parts.I had to kinda grind out some decals that were under the clear,thus creating some low spots,some I fixed when I fixed a couple dents,some I can still feel after I blocked the primer but I can't see them.How should I go about finding them,a guide coat possibly?When I do find them,would filling them over primer be ok?I'm gonna final prime it after I find all the imperfections.This trying to find shit on a round gas tank sucks,and fixing them sucks even worse!!!Thanks again for the help.

 

what did you grind them with? what grit?, Just work you way up to a finer grit, 80, 180, 220, 320, 400, I paint over 320 and 400, and block the primer with it. yes you can fill over primer but sand it with like 180 or so, and use a Glaze not "bondo" and a guide coat also helps, what are you blocking with?

 

Glaze putty is your friend skim and block until desired effect is achived.

 

I started by sanding the tank with 320,I grinded the dents with 180 to metal then filled them with 3M gold.I then blocked the bondo with 180 by hand around the curves,then glazed with 3M putty then hand sanded with 320.The dents were on the round corners of the tank,they came out really good but there is a very little low spot on one that I can feel but can't see.The decals were on the sides of the tank,I used 320 on a d/a only cause it wasn't gonna cut it by hand.I know better to turn a d/a on it's side to cut but the decals were on the curved parts and were really hard to cut out,I'm sure I created some low spots with the d/a but I thought primer would fill them.Turns out they must of been lower that I thoughtI think I'm doing everything in the right order just missed a few low spots,but if your saying just scuff the low spots with 180 then glaze I'll give it a try,is it ok to keep filling little by little until it's perfect?Oh by the way,I love 3M's products,but there filler and putty pin holes worse than the Evercoat shit I used.Any steps you see I'm doing wrong,please let me know,thanks for the advise.

 

yea you can keep filling and sanding BUT dont fill low spots of paint/metal with bondo or primer, feather the edges out, unless the metal is dented and you cant work the metal back out dont fill it, you can skim coat it later, if you have a flexable block that can conform to the shape of the tank with a flat surface , block that by hand, you can also use the edge of the block, i find that helps with a high radius panel.
I Use evercoat metal glaze, and if mixed right and folded, and Not stirred will produce great results with little pin holes, although there are always almost some there.

I would get the 3m powder guide coat and applicator, guide coat the whole tank and block that with 180 with a flexable block, then skim coat any low or imperfections, and block that out with the sanding block and 180 if that feels good then prime, and block with 320 -400, now primer is not a filler so dont try to use it as such, you have to get it stright with the glaze. -mike

 

Sorry I didn't type it that clear,when I said I did it by hand I meant with a soft block.The problem with the tank is the dents were pretty big and I couldn't pull them cause the liner inside,so I had to fill them.Thanks for the advise on feathering the edges out,makes perfect sence.I guess me relying on the primer to fill it was my mistake,thanks again.I've used filler before on the other stuff I fixed dents on,but this is the first time I used glaze.I get it now though,bondo is for rough filling and glaze is for the finishing details.I love the days where I learn something new.Thanks alot man

 

Thank you too sir,you guys fucking rock!!!

 

I know you said this tank had some dents but I am going to answer to the decal issue. I do alot of motor cycle tanks and stuff and the best remedy I found for the decals that alot of the manufacturers clear over is to sand them out with about 180 untill the decal is gone. then feather edge the paint out really nice. Than prime kind of heavy and block and you should be able to get it nice without using filler. I know this is different than you are doing on this project. But just FYI.

I had a tank come in with dents in it also. I pulled them with a stud gun. I flushed the tank with water and then used a stud gun to pull the dents. Than applied small amounts of filler and primed. I have also seen some tank dents fixed using that crazy paintless dent repair tooling. I am not sure how that all works though.

And don't worry the pros on here do not come here to just flame on people that ask good questions. Its the people that come on here and act the fool that we like to flame.

Keep the questions coming.

 

Thanks for the info Josh,I'll have to work on feathering the edges if I come accross this again.On the last fender I did,it had a painted pin stipe that was down to metal,I did it the same way I did these but I use a different primer.I'm using Matrix Systems primer/base/clear on these,I mixed a 4-1 ratio on the primer but it was really thin,on the final primer coat,do you think it's ok if I thicken it up a little?I'm gonna get it as prefect as I can with glaze before I prime it again though.

It's funny you say that about the stud gun cause I was gonna use it but my brother told me there was a liner on the inside of the tank and I was worried spot welding would hurt it some how.

I completly understand about some of the jackasses on TR,most of them are kids that have no respect,and I'm sure you guys as professionals get tired of hearing there smart ass know it all comments.Some of them needed there parents to smack the shit out of them a couple times when they were younger to teach them some manners and how to talk to someone.But that's the world we live in now.

Thanks dude,and the rest of you for your help and advise on all my questions.I for one respect and appriciate it all.I'll let you know how I'm doing with it,and I'll post some pics when it's done.It's really slow at work so I gotta keep myself busy.

 

Its ok me and Hellfire have a rep for making people afraid to ask questions, from back in our day at our HCC formality LOL